Migrate APOD and DONKI to their new APIs and add InSight, TLE, SSC, TechPort, TechTransfer, Trek and Mission Design tools (#15)

Author: ProgramComputer

.env.example

@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 # Copy to .env (never commit .env). Values here are placeholders.
 
-# api.nasa.gov key for APOD, NEO and DONKI.
+# api.nasa.gov key for NEO and InSight weather.
 # Get one at https://api.nasa.gov/ (DEMO_KEY works for light use).
+# APOD, DONKI, TLE, SSC, TechPort, TechTransfer, Trek and the JPL tools need no key.
 NASA_API_KEY=YOUR_NASA_API_KEY
 
 # FIRMS MAP_KEY for nasa_firms (separate from NASA_API_KEY).

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,5 +1,31 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## Unreleased
+
+### Breaking changes and migration
+
+- **`nasa_apod` uses the NASA Science APOD API** (`science.nasa.gov/wp-json/wp/v2/apod-basic`). The api.nasa.gov `/planetary/apod` endpoint returns HTTP 503/504 and the api.nasa.gov catalog says the legacy API goes offline on 2026-12-01. The new API needs no key, so `nasa_apod`, the `nasa://apod/image` resource template and the APOD prompts work without `NASA_API_KEY`.
+  - `count` (random pictures) and `thumbs` are retired: the new API has no random mode or thumbnail option. Calls that pass them get a migration message.
+  - `date` defaults to the latest published picture. Dates before 1995-06-16 or in the future are rejected before any request, and a day without a picture reports HTTP 404 clearly.
+  - Titles, credits and explanations are plain text (the new API returns HTML). Video entries report the video URL and a still frame. Embedded images are 1024-pixel-wide renditions when the image host offers them.
+  - The `nasa://apod/image` resource returns one entry object, without the upstream `basic_html` page.
+  - The `nasa/get-astronomy-picture` and `apod-daily` prompts no longer take `count` or `thumbs`.
+- **`nasa_donki` uses the NASA CCMC DONKI API** (`ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov/DONKI-API/get`). CCMC moved the public API there on 2026-09-30, and `api.nasa.gov/DONKI/*` now redirects to a CCMC news page instead of returning data. CCMC kept the parameters and response formats. The new API needs no key, so `nasa_donki` works without `NASA_API_KEY`.
+
+### New tools
+
+- `nasa_insight_weather`: InSight Mars weather. Historical data only: the feed is frozen at sols 675-681 (October 2020). Needs `NASA_API_KEY`.
+- `nasa_tle`: satellite two-line element sets by NORAD catalog number or name search (tle.ivanstanojevic.me, with CelesTrak data).
+- `nasa_ssc_observatories` and `nasa_ssc_locations`: the Satellite Situation Center observatory list and spacecraft positions in GEO, GM, GSE, GSM, SM and GEI coordinates. Long ranges are thinned automatically to keep the output bounded.
+- `nasa_techport`: TechPort project search and project details. These endpoints need no token.
+- `nasa_techtransfer`: NASA patents, issued patents, software and spinoffs from technology.nasa.gov (the api.nasa.gov `/techtransfer` route only serves a help page).
+- `nasa_trek_layers` and `nasa_trek_tile`: Mars, Moon and Vesta Trek layer search and WMTS tiles, addressed by zoom/row/column or by latitude/longitude.
+- `jpl_mission_design`: the JPL Small-Body Mission Design API in object mode and accessible-targets mode. Porkchop-plot maps (mode M) and mission-extension searches (mode T) are not exposed: their responses are too large or too slow for a tool call.
+
+### Fixes
+
+- Upstream error messages include the `{"response":{"message":...}}` bodies returned by the TLE API.
+
 ## 1.1.0
 
 A reliability and CMR release. It is published as a minor version, but **default responses, parameter validation and runtime support changed in ways existing clients can notice**. Anyone depending on `^1.0.x` (or `@latest`) will receive these changes, so review the list below before upgrading, or pin `1.0.14`.

README.md

@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@ Big thanks to the MCP community for their support and guidance!
 
 Ask your MCP client things like:
 
+* "Show me today's Astronomy Picture of the Day and explain what it shows."
+* "Were there any solar storms in September 2026: strong flares, Earth-directed CMEs or geomagnetic storms?"
 * "Which asteroids fly past Earth today, and which one comes closest?"
 * "Will any asteroid pass closer to Earth than the Moon in the next 90 days?"
 * "What are the odds that Bennu hits Earth, according to JPL Sentry?"
@@ -30,6 +32,13 @@ Ask your MCP client things like:
 * "Find cloud-hosted sea ice concentration datasets in NASA Earthdata."
 * "What were the daily highs, lows and solar energy in Denver during the first week of July 2025?"
 * "List the nearest roughly Earth-sized, temperate exoplanets discovered since 2020."
+* "Where was the ISS over the Earth between 00:00 and 00:10 UTC on 2026-09-29?"
+* "Get the latest two-line orbital elements for the ISS."
+* "Show me a Mars Trek map tile of Olympus Mons."
+* "What was the weather like at NASA's InSight lander during its last reported week on Mars?"
+* "Which near-Earth asteroids need the least delta-v for a mission launched in 2030?"
+* "Which NASA technology projects have worked on solar sails?"
+* "Find NASA patents about solar panels that companies can license."
 
 ## Disclaimer
 
@@ -72,7 +81,7 @@ The server can be configured with the following environment variables:
 
 | Variable | Description |
 |----------|-------------|
-| `NASA_API_KEY` | Your NASA API key (get at api.nasa.gov) |
+| `NASA_API_KEY` | Your NASA API key (get at api.nasa.gov); used by NEO and InSight weather |
 | `FIRMS_MAP_KEY` | Your FIRMS MAP_KEY for fire data (get at firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/api/map_key); separate from `NASA_API_KEY` |
 | `NASA_MCP_CMR_URL` | Optional CMR search URL (default: `https://cmr.earthdata.nasa.gov/search`) |
 | `MCP_TRANSPORT` | Transport mode: `stdio` (default) or `http` for Streamable HTTP |
@@ -100,25 +109,37 @@ http://127.0.0.1:3000/mcp
 
 This MCP server integrates the following NASA APIs:
 
-1. **NASA Open API** (api.nasa.gov):
-   - APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day)
-   - EPIC (Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera)
-   - DONKI (Space Weather Database Of Notifications, Knowledge, Information)
-   - Insight (Mars Weather Service)
+1. **NASA Open API** (api.nasa.gov, needs `NASA_API_KEY`):
    - NEO (Near Earth Object Web Service)
+   - InSight Mars Weather Service (historical: the feed stopped updating in October 2020)
+
+2. **Other NASA APIs** (no key needed):
+   - APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day), from the NASA Science APOD API (science.nasa.gov)
+   - DONKI (Space Weather Database Of Notifications, Knowledge, Information), from NASA CCMC (ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov)
    - EONET (Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker)
-   - TLE (Two-Line Element)
+   - TLE (Two-Line Element sets from CelesTrak, via tle.ivanstanojevic.me)
+   - Satellite Situation Center (spacecraft locations)
+   - TechPort (NASA technology projects)
+   - Technology Transfer (patents, software and spinoffs)
+   - Mars, Moon and Vesta Trek (WMTS map layers and tiles)
    - NASA Image and Video Library
    - Exoplanet Archive
+   - Open Science Data Repository (OSDR) files
    - POWER (Prediction Of Worldwide Energy Resources)
 
-2. **JPL Solar System Dynamics API** (ssd-api.jpl.nasa.gov):
+3. **JPL Solar System Dynamics API** (ssd-api.jpl.nasa.gov):
    - SBDB (Small-Body DataBase)
    - SBDB Close-Approach Data
    - Fireball Data
-   - Scout API
-
-3. **Earth Data APIs**:
+   - Sentry (impact risk)
+   - Scout (NEO Confirmation Page orbits)
+   - NHATS (human-accessible NEOs)
+   - Small-Body Mission Design
+   - Horizons ephemerides
+   - Periodic Orbits
+   - Julian date converter
+
+4. **Earth Data APIs**:
    - GIBS (Global Imagery Browse Services)
    - CMR (Common Metadata Repository) - Enhanced with advanced search capabilities
    - EPIC (Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera)
@@ -134,13 +155,14 @@ Each NASA API is exposed through standardized MCP methods:
 {
   "method": "nasa/apod",
   "params": {
-    "date": "2023-01-01", // Optional: YYYY-MM-DD format
-    "count": 5, // Optional: Return a specified number of random images
-    "thumbs": true // Optional: Return URL of video thumbnail
+    "date": "2023-01-01", // Optional: YYYY-MM-DD (1995-06-16 or later); defaults to the latest picture
+    "max_images": 1 // Optional: how many pictures to embed (0-5)
   }
 }
 ```
 
+For a range, send `start_date` and `end_date` (up to 100 days) instead of `date`. APOD now comes from the NASA Science APOD API, which needs no key and has no random `count` or `thumbs` option.
+
 ### Near Earth Objects
 
 ```json